Photography by David Loftus
roasted chicken breast with pancetta, leeks and thyme
Make this recipe for one in a snug-fitting baking dish or to save on washing-up, a little tinfoil tray.Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Put 1 chicken breast, skin removed, in a bowl. Trim and wash a large leek, remove the outer leaves, then slice it into 0.5cm/¼ inch pieces. Add these to the bowl with the leaves of a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a good glug of olive oil, small knob of butter, a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a small swig of white wine and toss together. Place your leek and flavourings from the bowl into the tray, then wrap the chicken breast in 6 or 7 slices of pancetta. This will not only flavour the chicken but also protect it while it cooks. Try and bend the sides of the tray in towards the chicken so the leeks don't burn during cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, place a couple of whole thyme sprigs on top and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.
Comments
carly [Visitor]
Mon 14 Jan 2008 @ 16:33
I made this the other night for a groupd for dinner and it was a big hit! I had to use prosciutto for the pancetta since I couldn't find any sliced pancetta. It turned out great. Thanks so much Jamie!
Kay Rogers [Visitor]
Tue 15 Jan 2008 @ 01:05
fantastic. thanks. So easy to prepare and tasted as good as anything I have had in expensive restaurants. I stirred some Creme fresh into the left over juice and it made a gorgeous sauce which complemented the chicken.
Ann Lucas [Visitor]
Thu 17 Jan 2008 @ 21:10
Was thinking of making this recipe for friends on Saturday and wondered if you served it with anything else? Roasted vegs or pasta perhaps? Any suggestions most gratefully received. Thanks.
Thomas [Visitor]
Sat 19 Jan 2008 @ 20:49
I'm a bit l8 now for any suggestions as u wanted to serve it today but why not try this: Get some nice potatos, carve a whole round about 1 cm in the middle of each and fill it with a stip of rosemary and a slice of speck. Anothter nice tip is to slice some potatos into matchsticks and deepfry them with some rosemary. Absolutly delicious with some lemonsalt sprinkled over.
Helen [Visitor]
Sun 20 Jan 2008 @ 23:59
Did this for an easy dinner and it was great. Quick and very straightforward (trust me, I'm no chef): you can throw it together and forget it for half an hour to have a drink and chat. The outcome was really tasty. Would certainly recommend it.
Jose [Visitor]
Tue 22 Jan 2008 @ 15:54
Wow Superb it was a nice and easy dinner Thanks Very MUCH!
Annabel H [Visitor]
Sun 27 Jan 2008 @ 11:00
Bit tasteless - went a bit watery for my liking - just tasted of boiled chicken with leeks - I added a layer of cheese under the pancetta but it didn't help much - very plain.
Helen C [Visitor]
Thu 31 Jan 2008 @ 19:37
Fantastic recipe, i am not very good at measuring quantities so this was very easy to do. I would like to know if anybody has used normal bacon as we found the pancetta a bit salty after a while. I will definetly try this again but I may substitute the Pancetta for bacon instead.
Lesley R [Visitor]
Sat 02 Feb 2008 @ 13:59
Loved this recipe. Not usually a big fan of chicken breasts but this was very tasty. Served it with creamy potato gratin (Nigella recipe) and cherry tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. Yummy on a cold winter night!!
Eva [Visitor]
Tue 05 Feb 2008 @ 15:43
This is DELICIOUS, had it with fine beans roasted in olive oil and a little salt and a rocket salad. Very yummy thank you!
Katie Lou [Visitor]
Wed 20 Feb 2008 @ 16:55
Fan-flippin-tastic! I am officially "the worst cook in the world" and I had so many compliments - very easy to do and very very tasty - thank you!
will [Visitor]
Thu 28 Feb 2008 @ 08:33
Made this last night and it was delicious. Had it with some potatoes, swede, leeks and onions I all roasted with the chicken, so easy and incredibly tasty.
AndyD [Visitor]
Thu 28 Feb 2008 @ 18:45
Great recipe which I have cooked a couple of times - nice one ! However, gto to comment on the "save washing up and use a foil tray" idea -not very environmentally friendly encouraging us to go all disposable esp. not with aluminium
lisa [Visitor]
Thu 06 Mar 2008 @ 19:12
Good wholesome meal. I did this with roasted tomatoes on the vine in balsamic vinegar. A cheesy potato would have given it more body as I do agree it needs something to make it less plain and give it a bit of umph.
Saz [Visitor]
Wed 12 Mar 2008 @ 15:11
eh?
Susanne [Visitor]
Wed 30 Apr 2008 @ 08:58
I am one of the world's worst cooks (my sons will confirm this), but have tried this receipe 3 times now and every time it turns out great and my sons eat it all and want me to cook it again. I've passed the receipe onto friends saying if I can cook this and it turns out fantastic, anyone can do it !!!
martin ryan dewhurst [Visitor]
Sat 03 May 2008 @ 15:30
big fan of cookin love the food my waistline will confirm, dont have enough time, ingredience or utencils to enjoy it to the fullest just found this site like it alot see you all soon.
Trace [Visitor]
Thu 15 May 2008 @ 12:08
I've made this one a few times, the kids love it, I'm not a lover of Pancetta so I used bacon instead, makes for a very nice meal and is extreamly easy to make.
ryan [Visitor]
Tue 10 Jun 2008 @ 13:31
where are the ingredients?
Jan [Visitor]
Tue 24 Jun 2008 @ 17:18
I made this chicken last night and it was very tasty. I used 4 chicken breasts baked in a 9x13 dish. I sliced and lightly sauteed some mushrooms that I needed to use up and added them to the sliced leeks. Placed the chicken breasts on top. Seasoned well with salt, and freshly ground pepper and fresh thyme leaves (removed from stems). Substituted thinly sliced bacon for the pancetta. Drizzled with olive oil, dotted with butter. Yummy and low carb meal for the hubby!
Jane [Visitor]
Tue 15 Jul 2008 @ 09:36
This is so easy and really delicious! I tried this as a 'one dish' meal by adding cooked quinoa to the baking dish first, then a layer of raw spinach, then the leeks, chicken etc as Jamie describes in his recipe. I didn't have white wine so used sake instead, and it was great!
dinah [Visitor]
Sun 20 Jul 2008 @ 10:25
made this friday, was lovely,me and my husband cooks a dish every friday from jamies book, this was easy and taste goood
Sarah [Visitor]
Fri 25 Jul 2008 @ 11:20
Where are the ingredients?? I really want to make this dish, but can't without the ingredients. Please help!
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